The present invention relates to the field of optically readable bar codes and, more particularly, to a bar code that may be printed with less precision than current bar codes and a scanner for reading it. Also disclosed is a communication system including such a bar code and scanner. The present invention also relates generally to the field of commercial security and, more particularly, to a method and system for authorizing and carrying out a secure financial transaction.
Bar codes are everywhere. Modern man encounters data hidden within such code devices often throughout each normal day. Most commercial products have a price tag or product label with a barcode which is scanned in order to ring up the purchase price and/or identify the product for inventory control or other purposes. Passports and drivers licenses have information encoded on bar codes which are readable by the relevant authorities. Checks we write may have bar coded data on them which is scanned into our bank records.
The prior art reflects a wonderfully diverse and interesting array of applications for bar codes, including the following: U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,058 which describes introducing data into an electronic baseball game via a bar code; U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,124 which shows an electronic trading card system in which bar coded data is disposed on an insertable and removable medium; U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,678 which describes sound emitting cards having data thereon in the form of bar codes; U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,731 which shows electronic cards with copy protection using bar coded safeguards; U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,029 which describes the interaction with intelligent virtual objects, with data transferred by bar code; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,248 which shows a system and method for carrying out information related transactions using World Wide Web documents with URL encoded symbols carried by bar codes and other storage mediums. There is almost no end to the utility of bar codes for condensing, conveying and displaying data for many purposes.
However, if one examines present bar codes, one cannot but be impressed with the precision with which the parallel stripes are disposed on the substrate, be it a product label or any other object. Indeed, it is essential that bar codes be precise in the configuration and placement of the parallel lines and spaces. Any deviation in line thickness or relative spacing will result in misread data, with potentially serious consequences.
In order to be able to rely on the achievement of such precision, it is necessary to use a high quality printer that prints the entire bar code in a single press, for example an offset printer. Printers that print line-by-line, such as dot matrix, inkjet and laser printers, are susceptible to misspacing due to irregular feed speeds and other causes.
Printing in a single press is commercially feasible only for labels and other pre-printed substrates for which there is needed a large printing run of identical appearance. Single press printing is impractical for products for which there is only a limited quantity required, and makes it difficult to use bar codes for applications in which a large number of bar coded units are required, but with each having unique data, such as one time use cards or specific user identified products. It is commercially unfeasible to print individualized bar codes during the initial printing run of the substrate. For such units it is necessary to reprint on already printed substrates the uniquely different bar code needed. Such secondary printing is customarily done with a printer that prints in a line-by-line fashion, however the results do not achieve the same level of read accuracy as do the results of single press printing.
There is thus a widely recognized need for a readable bar code that may be individually printed with line-by-line printing methods on pre-printed substrates and which may be accurately read by an optical scanner.
E-commerce via the Internet is a growing segment of commerce in the world today, with transactions totaling billions of dollars annually. A substantial amount of E-commerce is consumer purchasing from commercial Websites, in which a consumer orders a product and pays for it by credit card via a computer, the transaction details being transmitted electronically over a communications network.
The dangers inherent in such a practice are well known. The methods used to breach the security of such transactions are equally well known and include invading the switching, transmission, and host computer components, for example, by use of so-called Trojan Horse programs, therewith compromising secret keys stored in a given user""s personal computer, tampering with switches to redirect traffic, and intercepting and manipulating transmission facilities. Indeed, such practices are well known to hackers and are frequently transmitted around the World Wide Web for all to see.
In order to avoid such vulnerability, it is common for commercial enterprises to provide a method of payment that does not expose their clients"" confidential information to the electronic communications environment. Such merchant independent payment mechanisms which utilize communication networks may provide a direct link from customer to vendor for ordering, but with payment effected in a manner that does not require electronic transmission, and thus, without the need to disclose credit card information. Accordingly, a known client may order and pay for a product without exposing his credit account to theft and misuse. However, this practice, at present, does not permit users to utilize conventional financial instruments such as credit cards, debit cards, and demand deposit account balances to pay for products.
Other merchant independent payment mechanisms, particularly those commonly employed by Web based enterprises, include a customer database which stores their clients"" credit card details and utilizes conventional financial instruments to effect payment. This practice allows a client to order a product without exposing his credit account in the initial link to the merchant. However, the vulnerability remains in the subsequent link from the merchant to the credit supplier when obtaining authorization for the payment. It is widely known that this practice, even when transmissions are encrypted, only partially addresses the problem. Accordingly, the public remains rightly reluctant to pass on credit card information over the Internet.
Many payment solutions have been attempted that avoid the electronic security issue. One such idea is in the form of xe2x80x9cgift certificatesxe2x80x9d either prepaid and issued by a merchant or association of merchants, or linked to a credit account and issued by a credit supplier, such as the AMERICAN EXPRESS GIFT CHECK program and the AMERICAN EXPRESS xe2x80x9cBE MY GUESTxe2x80x9d program, which allow payment via a credit account but which do not require the disclosure of credit card information. However, such certificates do not provide complete security as they may be misappropriated and used by an unauthorized user. They do, however, provide partial protection in that they cap potential losses to the face amount of the certificate.
Another proposed solution is in the form of convenience checks drawn on a credit account, or combination credit cards/gift certificates known as gift checks, which can be used much as travelers checks. These too may be stolen and used by unauthorized users.
A solution has been proposed in the form of single-use credit card numbers. The number can be used for one transaction only so that if intercepted while transacting business over the Internet, it is of no further use anyway. This solves the theft during use problem, but does not address the problem of an unused single-use number being misappropriated and used by an unauthorized user, as a stolen credit card might be so used.
Accordingly, a way is needed to provide secure payment by credit card over a communications network that is not subject to the abovementioned limitations and vulnerabilities.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present embodiments to provide a bar code that may be printed with less precision than present bar codes and that may be accurately read by an optical scanner despite small variations in configuration and spacing.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a communication system using such a bar code to carry a telephone number and a scanner to read the number and send it to a user client to provide a communication address, for example, to command a telephone dialer to dial the number, or, alternatively, to provide a Web address or the like, or, in a particularly preferred embodiment, a personalized version of a web address.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a single use transaction code and an authorized user password, both associated with a transaction account, which are usable together to effect a financial transaction.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and a system for restricting the use of a single-use transaction code to an authorized user.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a payment voucher and a credit voucher restricted to use by an authorized user.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an optically readable printed digital code comprising in spatial association on a substrate a calibration row and a data row, arranged such that the calibration row provides a calibration for reading encoded data held in the data row.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a scanner having at least two optical readers controllably joined together and disposed side by side for reading code side for reading code comprising juxtaposed rows of printed spaces and non-printed spaces, the reading heads being controllably associated together to use one of said juxtaposed rows as a positional reference for reading said code from said juxtaposed rows.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a communication system comprising: an optically readable printed digital code disposed on a substrate, the code comprising a calibration row and at least one data row, the calibration row providing a calibration for reading at least one data row; (b) a scanner having a reader with at least two optical reading heads controllably joined together and disposed side by side for reading the code and for converting the code to network communication address information and for outputting the network communication address information; and (c) a communication enabled unit for receiving the network communication address information and for accessing a corresponding network communication address.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of storing data as a bar code comprising: (a) converting data to a series of binary data bits; (b) setting a calibration row comprising regularly alternating printed spaces and non-printed spaces, such that each space is assigned a printed state or a non-printed state; (c) for successive positions opposite respective spaces in calibration row, encoding a successive series of binary data bits using a corresponding calibration row space state and a state of the bit, thereby to compile a data row comprising printed spaces and non-printed spaces based upon data such that the alternating printed spaces and non-printed spaces provide a reference to the data-based printed spaces and non-printed spaces; and (d) printing the calibration row and the data row on a substrate.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of authorizing a financial transaction restricted to a password holder, comprising: (a) associating a single use transaction code with a user account of a user, (b) associating said transaction code with a predetermined maximum limit sum of money; (c) associating together the single use transaction code and a password; (d) providing the transaction code and the password to the user; (e) receiving the transaction code and the password, the receipt being for requesting authorization of the financial transaction involving a specified sum of money; (f) verifying a match between the transaction code and the transaction account, verifying the received password, and further verifying that the specified sum does not exceed the predetermined sum; (g) nullifying the transaction code for further use; and (h) authorizing the financial transaction.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of authorizing a financial transaction restricted to a password holder, comprising: (a) associating a single use transaction code with a user account of a user, (b) associating said transaction code with a predetermined maximum limit sum of money; (c) associating together the single use transaction code and a password; (d) providing the password to the user; (e) encoding the single use transaction code in optically readable digital code readable by a scanner, the scanner being for converting the digital code to the transaction code and for outputting the transaction code to a first network enabled communication unit; (f) printing the optically readable digital code on at least one single-use code carrier; (g) issuing at least one single-use code carrier bearing the transaction code to the user, (h) receiving the transaction code and the password from a user of the first communication unit on a second network enabled communication unit via a communications network, the receipt being for requesting authorization for a transaction involving a specified sum of money; (i) verifying a match between the transaction code and the transaction account, verifying the received password, and further verifying that the specified sum does not exceed the predetermined sum; (j) nullifying the transaction code for further use; and (k) authorizing the transaction and communicating the authorization to a user of the first communication unit by a user of the second communication unit via the communications network.
According to a yet further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of securely carrying out a financial transaction, comprising: (a)receiving at least one authorized user password associated with a transaction code; (b) receiving at least one single-use code carrier bearing a transaction code associated with a transaction account printed thereon in an optically readable digital code; (c) presenting the code carrier and the password for verification in order to receive authorization for the financial transaction; (d) receiving verification of a match between the transaction code and the transaction account and verification of the password; and (e) receiving authorization for the transaction.
According to a still further aspect of the present invention there is provided a system for providing authorization for a financial transaction, comprising: (a) at least one authorized user password associated with a single-use transaction code; (b) at least one single-use code carrier bearing the transaction code associated with a transaction account managed by a manager and printed thereon in an optically readable digital code; (c) a first network enabled communication unit operated by a user; (d) a scanner for optically reading the digital code and for outputting the transaction code to the first communication unit; (e) a second network enabled communication unit operated by the manager; and (f) a communications network for communicating with the first communication unit and with the second network communication enabled unit; such that the scanner reads the digital code and outputs the transaction code to the first communication unit, the first communication unit communicates the transaction code and the password via the communications network to the second communication unit for verification, and, upon condition that the transaction code and the password are verified, the transaction code is nullified for further use and the financial transaction is authorized.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the digital code further comprises at least one additional data row arranged such that the calibration row provides a calibration for reading encoded data from it.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the rows are linear rows.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the calibration row and the data row comprise a single printing alignment.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the calibration row is juxtaposed to the first data row and to the additional data row and serves as a reference to the data rows.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments each of the rows comprises printed spaces and non-printed spaces, the calibrated data being carried within the code by the referential juxtaposition of the printed spaces and the non-printed spaces.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the calibration row comprises regularly alternating printed and non-printed spaces.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the data row comprises data dependent printed and non-printed spaces such as to carry data as a same/different contrast between corresponding spaces of the calibration and data rows.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments each space in the data row is aligned to correspond to a respective space of the calibration row.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments each of the rows is readable sequentially from one end to the other end.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the code comprises a binary code.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the code is decodable for storage on an electronic medium, the binary code representing data consisting of numbers, letters of the alphabet and/or symbols.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the rows are readable by an optical scanner having at least two optical readers controllably joined together and disposed side by side for reading the rows simultaneously.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the scanner is for reading the rows from one end to the other end.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the scanner is for converting the code to data and outputting the data.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the data comprises identification information, personal information including a telephone number and security related data, authorization for a business transaction, a World Wide Web site address and/or information relevant to a commercial product.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the code provides access to a remotely located database entry associated with a user.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the database entry is enabled for automatic data output.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the printed spaces are arranged in substantially rectangular form.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the substrate comprises paper.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the substrate is a pre-printed business card and/or a pre-printed label.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the substrate includes an adhesive.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the scanner further comprises a converter for converting the code to data.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the two optical readers are disposed at a side of the scanner.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the user client is selected from the group consisting of a computer, a POS (point of sale) system, a portable computing device such as a PDA, a cellular telephone having Internet capabilities (e.g., wireless application protocol) and a Web TV.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the user client includes a database for storing data, the network communication address information being stored in the database.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the communication unit is a user client.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the communication unit is a telephone dialer.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the printing is carried out by a printer that prints line by line.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the transaction code is a unique code.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the transaction account is a credit account and the transaction code is associated with a valid credit card number.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the transaction account is a bank account and the transaction code is associated with a bank account number.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the transaction account is an asset fund and the transaction code is associated with a fund identifying designation.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the transaction account is an asset fund and the transaction code is associated with the asset fund.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the predetermined sum is indicated on the code carrier.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the transaction code is printed on the code carrier.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the transaction code is printed on the code carrier in an optically readable digital code.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the digital code is a bar code.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the bar code comprises in spatial association at least two linear rows comprising a calibration row and at least one data row, arranged such that the calibration row provides a calibration for reading encoded data carried by the data row.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the calibration row and the data row comprise a single printing alignment, the calibration row being juxtaposed to the data row and serving as a reference to the data row.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments each of the rows comprises printed spaces and non-printed spaces configured in substantially rectangular form.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the calibration row comprises regularly alternating printed and non-printed spaces, the data row comprises data dependent printed and non-printed spaces with each space being aligned to correspond to a respective space in the calibration row, such as to carry data as a same/different contrast between corresponding spaces of the calibration row and the data row, the spaces being readable sequentially.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the digital code is an encryption of the transaction code.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the digital code is an encryption of the password.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the digital code contains the predetermined sum.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the digital code contains an arbitrary number associated with the user for identifying said transaction account.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the digital code comprises a binary code decodable for storage on an electronic medium, the binary code encoding data constituting the transaction code.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the rows are readable by an optical scanner having at least two optical reading heads controllably joined together and disposed side by side for reading the rows simultaneously and from one end to the other end.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the scanner is for converting the code to data and outputting the data to an electronic medium.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the electronic medium comprises at least two network enabled communication units for receiving and transmitting the data via a communications network, and a communications network.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the two communication units are user clients selected from the group consisting of a computer, a portable computing device, a cellular telephone having data capability and a Web TV.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments at least one of the communication units includes a database for storing data, the transaction code and the password being storable in the database.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the communications network is the Internet.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the code carrier is one or more of the group consisting of paper, plastic, a pre-printed check, a pre-printed facsimile of a check, a credit card and a facsimile of a credit card.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the manager is selected from the group consisting of a banker, a fund manager and a credit supplier.
The present invention successfully addresses the shortcomings of the presently known configurations by providing a resilient bar code that is less precise than current bar codes and a scanner for reading it.
The present invention also successfully addresses shortcomings of the presently known configurations by providing a user password associated with a single use transaction code to effect a financial transaction and to provide authentication that the transaction is being effected by an authorized user.